Julius Caesar Essay

“O pardon me, thou bleeding piece of earth, That I am meek and gentle with these butchers.” (Act 3, Scene 1) Some men have murdered his best friend, idol and role model for an invalid purpose. Antony felt passionately angry and grievous, but not without good reason. Caesar was assassinated. That was enough for Antony to turn against the conspirators and begin a war against them.

Antony set out to kill the murderers, especially Cassius and Brutus, because of his lust for revenge. The same way his beloved Caesar was slain, so he would slay the assassinators. Revenge then seeps through into his every action, causing him to start a fierce war, and also showing he would not rest until every force opposing Caesar was destroyed. Most of all, Mark Antony wanted to get revenge for the death of his dear friend. “Pardon me, Julius! Here wast thou bay’d, brave hart; Here didst thou fall; and here thy hunters stand, Sign’d in thy spoil, and crimson’d in thy lethe.” (Act 3, Scene 1) When Antony was spouting those lines he was staring at Caesars torn corpse, still caught up in the abruptness of his death. And this is the point when Antony realized, here I am, being friendly with the people who stabbed my friend to death! , and therefore planted the seed of revenge to grow the tree of war. Antony not only thought of Caesar as his buddy, but also as this great ruler who united Rome. “Thou art the ruins of the noblest man that ever lived in the tide of times.” (Act 3, Scene 1) Antony was lamenting over the death of this grand being that led Rome into power. This was yet another reason Antony sought revenge on the conspirators; to make up for the death of the leader he truly respected. Mark Antony had many reasons for starting the war, but this was one that was based on his private motivation and therefore was not as valid as the rest.

Antony felt he had to avenge Caesar’s death, but he also killed the murderers for a sense of justification. He felt that if the conspirators were destroyed, Caesar’s death would be justified and he could move on. In one way, he took it literally and believed that Caesar’s ghost could not move on unless his death was avenged and the conspirators killed. “And Caesar’s spirit, raging for revenge, With Ate by his side come hot from hell, Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war,” (Act 3, Scene 1) In this quote, Antony was explaining that the spirit of Caesar was restless and wanted to kill his murderers. Therefore, Antony thought he himself should carry out the will of this spirit, in order to justify this act. Antony also thought that Caesar would have wanted his best friend, Antony, to justify his unfair assassination. “… put a tongue In every wound of Caesar that should move The stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.” Thrice in Antony’s speeches he refers to Caesars wounds as mouths that compel him to speak for Caesar. This shows that one of Antony’s motivations for the war was to speak and act for Caesar’s corpse to bring about justice. Justice is a suitable reason for a war, but that depends on what exactly Antony’s sense of justice really was.

Antony was experiencing an extreme sense of loss, and was in a very emotional state at the time. His ultimate motivators, revenge and justice, made him persevere with his act and drive out the force against his beloved Caesar. In the end of the play he did just that, and triumphed in the war. Antony totally justified and revenged for Caesar’s death, in his own perspective. But, from my point of view, it was a bad move. Why spill even more blood? If the conspirators had tried to do wrong towards Antony himself, I think he should take action, but otherwise I believe it was completely unnecessary. Revenge is not a legitimate reason to murder unless shows some harm towards one, and even though justice is a valid motive, Antony has a warped sense of it. Part of his decision to take action is not made up of reason but of pure emotion and lingering shock of the murder of Caesar, Antony’s friend and leader.